What is the Divine Feminine?

Brand new Tarot Spread

Happy Monday, friends! In my latest post Sophianic Witchcraft and the Wise Witch Tarot Spread, I share about my personal path in service to the Divine Feminine. The Tarot spread I created for today’s post is for anybody already on or interested in stepping onto a Goddess path.

So in today’s Substack, I wanted to give a more general overview of the Divine Feminine and how the concept differs through two main spiritual paths, one modern and one ancient.

The concept of the Divine Feminine has transcended across various belief systems, manifesting differently in each. In New Age thought the Divine Feminine is often seen as a spiritual and psychological concept that represents an ideal of womanhood — an archetype that embodies traits like intuition, nurturing, healing, and wisdom. This archetype is associated with the Earth, the moon, and the cycles of life and death.

From a New Age perspective, the Divine Feminine is integral to spiritual wholeness and balance. She is revered as a source of life and sustenance, a universal mother figure who is found within every individual and the cosmos itself. The Divine Feminine in New Age philosophy encourages personal growth, empowerment, and a deep connection to the natural world. It invites both women and men to embrace a nurturing and intuitive aspect within themselves as a path to harmony and spiritual enlightenment.

In contrast, Gnostic traditions refer to the Divine Feminine as Holy Sophia, a central figure in many of their myths. Sophia, from the Greek word for wisdom, is often depicted as a fallen divine being who creates or interacts with the material world in some fashion, leading to a process of restoration and return to the divine realm.

In Gnostic cosmology, Sophia is seen as an emanation of the divine, contributing to the creation of the universe, sometimes in a capacity that leads to her own fall from the Pleroma — the realm of the totality of God's attributes. Her journey involves a reawakening and an ascent back into spiritual unity with the divine source, which can be interpreted metaphorically for individual spiritual paths. Holy Sophia embodies traits like wisdom, as her name suggests, but also the deep longing for reunification with the Divine.

Here's a comparative summary:

• New Age Divine Feminine: A psychological archetype and spiritual principle signifying balance and wholeness, associated with earthy, nurturing qualities, and accessible to all as a path to enlightenment.

• Gnostic Holy Sophia: A specific mythological figure depicting wisdom and the soul's journey, whose narrative involves creation, fall, and redemption, symbolising the soul's path back to the divine source.

Both perspectives share a respectful acknowledgement of feminine aspects within the divine, yet they differ in narrative, role, and the specific qualities and implications attributed to the Divine Feminine.

Which of these two perspectives resonates more with you? It’s okay if both resonate. I think how we view the Divine Feminine may be evolving. Part of me remembering who I am and what path I’m meant to be on in this lifetime comes from remembering past lifetimes. I was born with an inbuilt love for Sophia/Wisdom to the point that I named my first daughter Sophia. While I do not consider myself a Gnostic in the ancient/classical sense, much of that wisdom still resonates with me.

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